Memories
by blackberryvanilla
Summary: "She's trying to say that you'll be spending the night with me, Lan Fan." When I turned around to see who it was, it was none other than Ling. As I've stated before, Ling has an affinity of embarrassing me, but this time, it's going to be worse because he'll be doing it in PUBLIC. This is going to be an interesting Xingese New Year.


The vibrant lanterns illuminated the walkways of the town. It was officially Xingese New Year. Ling managed to bring peace to Xing and successfully unite the clans as one. Of course some of the clans were in opposition due to their long-standing hatred towards the other clans. There were still some treaties to be made between the clans to avoid further violence but that would take time. Fortunately Xingese New Year arrived and was the temporary mediator between the clans. After all, it was the most exciting time of the year in Xing; where friends and families would get together, and this year, clans would forget their resentment towards each other

I went over to my wooden drawers below the mirror I had in my room. I pulled out the first drawer and unfolded the off-white cheongsam along with a golden hairpin. Ling had bought it for me when it was my birthday. I remember imploring him to not waste money on me but he ignored my pleas and went ahead to buy me one. But at the same time I felt happy that he actually thought of me even though he was busy; no one, not even my beloved father was ever like that to me.

Once I put it on, I started to look at myself in the mirror. The sleeveless dress reached my toes and hugged my body. The collar was laced with golden colored silk and had intricate designs in that same color. I started to feel unsure about wearing this given that Ling was pretty much a pervert.

We were training once and I was wearing a bodysuit as guards were required to wear. The match was one of our usual ones of course but for some reason, Ling decided that it would be funny to physically harass me and began to hit me "accidentally" in certain areas. I blushed so hard that when he noticed, he smirked at me and that's when I realized he'd be doing more things like this to see me blush again. That signified my entry to hell forever. Literally. Okay maybe I _did _enjoy getting attention and Ling playing around with me but that still doesn't change anything. He'd still be the same playful Ling that he'd always been. I just hope he won't try anything at this festival.

I brushed my silky long black hair and pulled it up into a neat bun gathered at the back of my head. I then delicately placed the hairpin in my hair and headed out the door. I passed through the gardens and walked towards the front of the palace. From there, I could see the whole town. Just as it was through my window, lanterns of different colors were stringed together and several shops were open with people celebrating. This had always been my favorite time of the year, when people forgot about their worries and could have one night to let go and be given a chance to start again. As I began walking through town, there were huge lines of people waiting to get these special dumplings that were made for the occasion only. Children were lighting firecrackers, there was dancing, people making bets on how much they could drink, and of course, the cabbage man selling his cabbage again. I wondered if he had any family to spend the night with. I felt bad until I realized I didn't either. I spotted a couple laughing at one of the tables inside the restaurant. I took a closer look and I found out it was May Chang and the younger brother of the Fullmetal Alchemist. May spotted me and called me over

"Hey Lan Fan come over here!" Most people would've been surprised that she actually called me over since the clans were always against each other but Ling made a compromise with May to spare the opposing clans which brought peace to them all. I made my way over and greeted the young girl. She definitely had grown up. She was about 15 and still had her long black hair but for this occasion, she pinned it up. Her pretty eyes slightly became more almond-shaped and her body was starting to become that of a woman's. Her flawless glowing skin complemented the red and gold cheongsam she was wearing.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, how have you been?"

"Fine, actually. Just the usual. What about you?"

"I've been working with Al and his studies but I've made sure to keep him focused so he doesn't get distracted because of my beauty." She replied teasingly.

"Would you like to eat with us?" he asked politely.

"No thank you. I'm not hungry at the moment and I would hate to barge in your little date." I grinned. The both of them started to blush profusely. Suddenly May's expression changed into a smirk.

"You know, there's a rather handsome man at this festival." She suddenly said. I looked at her with a confused expression.

"A rather risky bargain was made with the man."

"I came up to him one day and asked to allow Al stay with me in Xing and ensure that a romantic relationship between us would be allowed to develop."

_Wait, is this-_

"So in order for that to happen, I agreed to help him spend a special night with a

certain someone. If I denied, or failed, he wouldn't allow Al to stay with me so-"

"Wait, where's this going? Why are you telling me this?" I asked confused.

"She's trying to say that you'll be spending the night with me, Lan Fan."

When I turned around to see who it was, it was none other than Ling. I had mixed emotions about this. I was relieved that it was just Ling but at the same time, I was unsure about this. As I've stated before, Ling has an affinity of embarrassing me, but this time, it's going to be worse because he'll be doing it in PUBLIC.

"Well are we going to go or are you going to continue to stand there and sulk?" Ling grinned. I glowered up at him with a menacing stare only to be received by laughter. He ruffled my hair playfully.

"Aww come on Lan Lan, don't be like that. And I see that you're wearing the hairpin and dress I bought you." He winked at me. I sighed and turned my head. Yet he only laughed again.

_What am I going to do with him?_

We began walking towards the entrance of the restaurant when I began taking notice of Ling's appearance. For once, he had his hair down and more jovial than usual.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." I let out another exasperated sigh. I deduced that we were probably going somewhere private for obvious reasons. Ling being the emperor and me as his bodyguard would only raise suspicions and I would hate for there to be rumors floating around us. As we were walking towards the outskirts of the festival, we saw a young girl walking towards us.

"Are you guys in love? Because you're spending the night with each right?" She smiled innocently at us.

"A-ah no…! We're just friends and that's- "

"Yes." Ling smiled at the girl. She squealed and wished us luck. I gaped and then glared at Ling.

"What the hell are you doing? This is exactly what I was trying to avoid!" Ling stared at me with a disappointed expression. He murmured something then turned his head away. The rest of the walk was awkward and silent. I felt guilty for lashing out at him so harshly on something so trivial. Of course I didn't mean it; I just didn't want people finding out about us. Rumors would be spreading all over the country and while I didn't care what people thought of me, what people said about Ling mattered to me. If people found out that we were in love, not only would it create backlash from the nobles in court, but we'd separated. I'd forced out of his job because I'd be a liability to his safety.

Upon leaving the outskirts of town, we finally arrived at our destination. It was a secluded spring with enough vegetation to obscure the view from any unwanted eyes. There was a clear pond with a small waterfall in the back. Ling set the basket in his right hand down and began laying out the cloth on top of the soft sand. I too helped take out the food from the basket with the napkins. When we finally settled on the cloth, the both of us remained silent. I opened up the container with rice balls inside and nibbled on it. Yes, I was nervous. Never have I ever seen Ling in this state before.

_I really did screw up_

"Ling, I'm sorry." I blurted out.

_Wow Lan Fan you really are subtle._

"Hn."

"Ling please say something. I was just worried." I looked at him desperately while he just stared forward. Not even acknowledging me. We sat like this for a good while until I grew irritated and I sat in front of Ling. As soon as I sat in front of him, he erupted with barking laughter. I was confused as he kept on laughing at my facial expression.

_Of course he'd do something like this._

"Okay Ling. What the hell. Was this really necessary?" He didn't answer as he was a little preoccupied at the moment. I began to leave when he quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit in front of him again.

"Yes, it was," he replied. He finally let me go and I sat right next to him. I opened up the box of cooked rice with chicken in it and began eating it. Ling followed but ate noodles instead.

"So why'd you have to bribe May into helping you spend New Year's with me? I would've said yes anyways."

Ling looked at me surprised then said "Are you serious? So you're saying that I didn't actually have to let May live happily ever after?"

I frowned "What do you mean, didn't you promise that you'd protect her clan? I thought the two of you settled your differences." Ling looked at me with the most confused face ever and then started choking on his noodles. I had to go over to him and help him swallow his food like a babysitter.

Once Ling was composed he replied "Are you kidding me, she tried to take advantage of me when I was drunk! It was the weekend of my coronation too! Don't you remember?" I tried to recall what he was talking about and then I remembered.

_-Flashback_

_Ling sat at the bar with Ed, Roy, Riza, Winry, Lan Fan, and Al. They were all out celebrating his accomplishment in Amestris. It was odd for them to be celebrating in Amestris but since no one really knew who the two Xingese foreigners were, it was easier to unwind there. Al and Mei were finally became of age and were able to drink. We were all sitting at the table with plates of food piling over. The waiter serving us was giving us weird looks as if he didn't know if we'd be able to pay for the food._

_Ling only dismissed the waiter and said "Oh my good man, don't worry about it. Just keep it coming. We can pay for it." He winked at the waiter sloppily. The man left and Winry was scolding Ed for not eating his vegetables._

_"__Ed you're going to end up like Gluttony if you continue your eating habits!"_

_"__Shut upp Gearrrhead, YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" the blond retorted._

_ "__Ed, do us a favor and shut your mouth. No one needs to hear a scrawny pipsqueak complain over his food." Roy sneered._

_"__SHADDYAP ROY. AT LEAST I'M STILL YOUNG YOU'RE CRUSTY AND GREW THE MOST HIDEOUS MUSTACHE EVER!" the former alchemist yelled back._

_Roy took this offensively and said "Hey! You're looking at Amestris' Fuhrer here! And that mustache took time to grow and I looked fabulous. It was not hideous!"_

_"__Roy, I would have to agree with Ed on this one, it was quite disturbing to look at. That's also why I shaved it off for you during your sleep." Riza said. Roy looked at her horrified. "SO IT WAS YOU-"_

_"__Uh guys- we should probably keep it down. Right Lan Fan?" the younger brother asked. I nodded my head. A while later after everything settled down, we began telling tales of our many rambunctious escapades and enthralling adventures. May then dared the men to seduce the waiter as she was bored. At first it wasn't serious until Roy and Ed took it seriously and started arguing who could do it better. Of course it didn't make it better when Ling felt left out and joined in their bet._

_They were all seriously drunk and every time the waiter came, Roy would start whispering sweet nothings into the man's ear while Ed and Ling did other things to make the waiter feel awkward. He tolerated it for a while seeing that the Fuhrer and the renowned Fullmetal Alchemist were there. Then he reached his limit when Ling finally stood up and did something so unspeakable that we were kicked out and banned forever from the bar._

_-End_

I started laughing uncontrollably at the memory. "That was classic, I'll have to repay May one day for doing that." Ling looked at me disappointedly. Then he suddenly smirked at me and recalled all of the memories of our "precious time" we spent together in secluded areas.

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what? Embarrass you? It's because I value my time with you more than with anyone else. I want to create memories of our times together" I rolled my eyes at him which earned a chuckle from Ling. We sat there for a while, just enjoying each other's silence when I asked him a question.

"Why'd you tell the girl we were dating? Aren't you a little afraid of what will happen when find out about us?" I asked.

Ling studied my face for a moment and then replied, "Why would I be. If I'm the emperor then nothing will go wrong. You're looking into this a little too much Lan Fan." he replied simply.

"Or maybe you're just being a little too naïve." I blurted out. Ling looked at me seriously as if I offended him, "When the clans find out about our relationship, they'll revolt. Once they find out that you're no longer viable as an emperor they'll have a reason to replace you with someone else."

"Lan Fan, trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"I don't think so. You're not looking into the long term effects if we do go public. We'll both be disgraces to our clans and will be separated forever." I looked at him with a stone expression. Maybe I did go too far with my cold words but it was the truth. He needed to know that.

"Are you really trying to doubt me after how far _we've _come together?" he asked with a little anger in his voice.

"No. All I'm saying is that you should take my words into consideration Ling. We can't afford our selfishness to get in the way of our better judgment.

"_Selfishness? R_eally Lan Fan? Is that how you think of our relationship?" Ling almost sneered at me.

"Wha- of course not. I was just trying to remind you of the possible issues we could face in the future my lord."

"Call me _Ling, _Lan Fan. And what're you so worried about? You're my bodyguard and I'm the emperor. No one can separate us." He raised his voice alarmingly.

"Yeah bu-"

He suddenly pressed his lips against mine a little too aggressively than expected and wrapped his arms around my waist. I tried moving away but his tight grip on me was preventing me doing so. I finally gave in as Ling deepened the kiss; signifying his dominance. Originally it was a little cold outside but Ling's body heat made me forget about that. I felt safe in his arms. When we finally broke the kiss, I looked down bashfully. Our foreheads were touching together as we sat there silently embracing each other.

"Listen Lan Fan," he said while tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear, "there's nothing in my power that will ever stop us from staying together. I don't care what anyone else will say about us."

"Then is that why you told the girl we were dating?"

"Yes, why should I try to hide the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with?" I looked up at him with surprise. He reached out for a box and took out a necklace.

"Lan Fan, will you marry me?" he asked. I looked at him with so much shock. This was a lot sooner than I expected but I flung my arms around him.

"Yes. I love you." I replied.

Ling whispered into my ear, "I love you too."

"Ling, I-I'm sorry. I was just worried but I don't know why." I looked up at him

"There's nothing to be worried about Lan Fan. Everything will be alright." He embraced me and started stroking the top of my head to help me calm down. After a while, he took the necklace and waved it in front of me. "May I?" he asked politely. I nodded eagerly. He put it around my neck and I turned back to him, smiling. It was simple yet beautiful; there were little gold leaf designs in the center with a jade colored flower dangling from the leaves elegantly.

"I wonder what time it is, I don't want to miss the fireworks like last time!" Ling blurted out suddenly. I giggled at his antics.

"Don't worry, if we leave now we'll be able to make it." I replied back. We both began cleaning up the area and I helped Ling place everything back into the basket. Once we were done Ling stood up and held out a hand for me. I accepted it and we began walking out of the spring. As we were walking to the center of the town, we were still holding hands but I didn't care. People were already too busy counting down until midnight.

"Looks like we just made it in time." I said to Ling. He grinned back at me.

"7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" The crowd finally cheered as the fireworks were burst into the open sky.

"Well this is definitely going to be a New Year _I'm _going to remember." Ling smirked at me playfully. I elbowed him in the side with my auto mail which received a groan from him. I started laughing again until he composed himself and we held hands again. I looked at the sky and suddenly remembered my dear grandfather. I started forming tears at the corners of my eyes.

_This really was the best New Year. Thank you for looking out for me, Grandfather. _


End file.
